Stabilizer for traversing hoist buckets



June 11, 1935. W H, TOWNE I A 2,004,451

STABIL-IZER FOR TRAVERSING HOIST BUCKETS Filed Nov. 8f l26 2 'Sheets-Sheet l'` www.

June 1l, 1935. w. H. vTowNl-z STABILIZE'R FOR TRAVERSING HOIST BUCKETS Filed Nov. 8, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 `Patented June 11, 1935" N ,f 004,451 e y szrnmlznnron TltAvEnsiNe 1101s UoKE'rsV e Y 4Wilnis H. Towne, Wiimette, 111.,.assigimr" to Gif.;

ford-Wood C York i ompany,` a.v corporationf of New Application November-8,1192@ SerialV No. 146g890. s Y

` 1 l oclaims. (cime-77.) i

f This invention relates to` traversing hoistsof the type employing "dumping buckets, andaims to prevent damage land eliminate delays resulting from the pendulumi-likeswinging set up by` starte ing and stopping of the buckets. *l

The invention may be understoodbyreference to one illustrative nembodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, in which;

M Fig. 1` isa-n elevationgwithfparts `broken awafy,v

provided with the loticket-stabiii zing dence;u

Fig. 2' isA an elevation on a much larger scale showing the bucket-stabilizing means; and i i illustrating a plant employing a traversing `hoist l Fig.` 3 is an end elevationot the same, showing;

the track incross` section. j e e u Because of the heavyexpenseof repeated handling and long distancehauling of coal and other heavy materials, there has beena distinct trend of recentyears toward the establishment of what maybe termed neighborhoodyards;`that is to say; yards located in various sections of a city for the `storage anduliandling andfretail'selling of coal;4 building materials'and thelike. The most modern yards are specially designedv toy be run `with aminimum `of labor, being served by sidings from a railroad, and lso arranged that the coal or other material maybe? dumped from the railroad ucar and carried" by av traversing `hoisthbucket to storage bins, from which -wagonsor trucks. are

easilyl loaded by gravityl Andnstall'ation of thefcharacterdescribed has "manyadvantages over aryardemploying open air 'storagevfor coal, `building'frnaterials or the like,

which needl not be explained.` However,` in use,

pertain operating diflicultiesl are encountered `whichy the invention seeks to obViate, as `will be "set forth b`eloW` f i e "f ReferringftoFig. 1. there is shown 'aportion of `al small/neighborhood yard suitable for handling c 1a d 11k` Commodities, the su i yofwhieh l U '0a n e pp y bucket. is moved into thepitand there receives` its load, preferably-by gravity as' described` in the application of C. M. Root, Serial No. 78,163, led` "is deliveredfby arailroad toa siding (not shown) fbuilt overa pit (n'ot shown) permittingdumping of tliei coal as received. The bucket 5 obtains a load -from the pit, and thenl moves over a pluralityof concrete bins li,` each bin `providingA a *compartment for one of the several kinds of coal "which itisj desired to keep in stock. The upper ends of the bins are open" to permit the bucket .5 lto descend therein for -dumpingits loads `without unnecessary'breakagc ofinth'e coal; `and fo-rpro- `tection againstthe weather, said upper ends are covered by a shed lhaving anopening 8 Atoper- `mit the bucketto pass into Tand out of the shed' The elevated on its way to and from the bins.

track 9` along which the bucketfcarrying trolley high `to clear `thetops of the!V bins and is moved lll :runsisrsupported bylastructure; Il extending between thepit andthe most remote bin. In the illustrativeplant the! lower portionsfof the bins havelateral openings l2 ofsufficlent size` to-per- `mit trucks to be driven` underneaththe bins and "E `toVreceivc-r loads from chutes I3 leading from the bottoms ofthe bins,` as shown.'` H While the mechanism for operating the bucket isper se no; part of my invention, the disclosure of'certain portions of the bucketoperating means is necessary to" make clear the nature and advant-ages `of the invention. The bucket raised orflowered by means of a hoistline I4 which ext amotor dr-Venfhoist' drum (not shown)` `located within the engine house l5; The arrang'e-` vm-entisfsuch that as;` the hcistmdrumfis rotated in .opposi'te directions the hoist` line is wrapped upon or unwrapped from the drum, thuscausing the bight 1 Ida-of thehoist line `to` be drawn in or paid 4cnittas will be clearly,understood,` so that the yverticalposition of the bucket is ccintrollablei k by asingle line` The bucket hasv abail `ISrprovided with a `sli-cave` Il., andthe bight flllzof the `hoist linepasses Iaround the sheave l1 andjover sheaves I8 l'carriedupon .the trolley l0; and `is 5 made `fast toone endy of `thertrack or other sta` ,tionary member, being guided by an idler sheave i9` to thefhoistdrum. To propel the trolleypand `l'ience the bucket,` inv opposite directions, a;` trolley 3d `linezjis" used, having its. ends fixed at `2| ,to v the opposite endsofthetrolley and passing about `an idler sheave 22 at one end of the'traek 9 `and e .also over guide vsheaves 23.anddownwardlyto the motor driven trolley-drum (notshown) lo.;

cated inthe enginehouse AI 5. By the described ar- .rangement the position of. the bucket.. is conl-A rtrij lled with but two lines, `each entirely .inld'ef `pendent, oftheother.

1n the .operation ofthe described plant,

December29, 1925, and is then hoisted suiciently along the elevated-.track untilit isover one of the bins. i Thebucketv is now `lowered until its bottom comes in Contact with the coalpreviously e `placed in the bin :or else with the bottomof the bin if the bin isi-empty, and thereupon the bucket 50 automatically dumps through its bottom, for in` i Vstance as disclosed in the A. `C.ll3ennett Patent No. 1,7415123, thus Ypreventing much breakage. Its Vload'beingf thus discharged, the bucketvisthenV Jhoistedand returned to the pit for v110.1217113,1' load and the process is repeated until the supply of coal is stored, or until the bin is full.

In using the described apparatus, trouble is encountered because of the momentum of the bucket, particularly when loaded. Rarely will the bucket have a load capacity of less than 1 ton, and when vempty it may weigh upwards of 2400 lbs., while its spec-d may be from 300 to 800 ft. per minute, depending on the extent of the plant and the size of the bucket. As the bucket is supporte-d by a freely rotatable sheave movable over the relatively flexible bight Illa of Vthe hoist line, when started or stopped it acts (whether loaded or empty) like an extremely heavy pendulum and hence continu-es to oscillate for a considerable time. If the start or stop is sudden, the oscillationis much more pronounced. When the bucket is adjacent the track these oscillations may simply move the trolley back and forth along the track; but if the bucket is lowered while oscillating, the pendulum formed by the bucket and the bight Illa or" ythe hoist line becomes longer and therefor-e the arc traversed by the oscillating bucket becomes increasingly larger. The result is that the bucket sooner or later strikes against the inside wallof the concrete bin, thereby damaging said wall and frequently battering the bucket to'such an extent as seriously to injure it. As installations of the described type 'are expressly built torlowerr operating costs, it is cus tomary to employ only one operator, who must stay in the engine house. It is impossible for the single operator to see the bucket when it is in the bins orabove the bins, and thereore damage resulting from swinging of a bucket cannot be foreseen and prevented. By the present in,- vention, I provide a bucket stabilizing means Ywhich positively checks all oscillations of the bucket setup by starting and stopping oi the trolley, and acts entirely automatically, permit- `ting one-man operation.

lA- stabilizing means embodying my invention is shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and consists of an attachment to the trolley againstwhich the bail o the bucket strikes upon elevation of the bucket. Pref erably, the bail is pivoted to the bucket, which is supported by the hoist line so that the bail is normally parallel to the trolley. As shown, a frame 24 is fixed to each end of the trolley and extends below the trolley, supporting two buier plates 25 .whichthe bail of thevbucket strikes when the bucket is raised to its uppermost position. The

ybuffer plates` have a suiiicient spread to insure engagement of the bail therewith when the bucket hasbeen elevated. Preferably, the butler plates are parallel to each other, and extend at right angles to the plane of the track (and of the trolley) at equal distances from the` ends of the trolley, spaced about as far apart as the ends ofthe trolley, and have both ends bent downwardly, as shown, serving, when the 'bucket is ,elevated while swinging, to guide the bail toa 4central position.` Each frame carries two rods 2B, the lower ends of which are secured to the lbufer plates and the upper ends passing through angles of the frame and being secured by lock fnuts 21.1,The rods 26 carry compressed coil springs 23 interposed between the buffer plates ,and the frame, ythe arrangement being such that any blow or stress communicated to the buiier plates by the bucket bail will further compress ysome or all of the springs. lof springs at opposite ends of the trolley co- 4operating to resist swingingr of the bucket bail l5 and therefore tending to hold the bucket bail As there are two sets parallel to the track, it will be clear that uponi sudden stopping or starting of the trolley any tendency of the bucket to swing like a pendulum in the plane of the track will be immediately checked and in a very brief interval of time the bucket will be completely motionless relativel toV the trolley, and may be lowered. Thus the stabilizing device oi my invention permits use of a traversing hoist bucket for lling a series of bins,

`thereby realizing all the advantages of these bins without the disadvantages of damage to the bucket and-.bins orelse the serious loss of time waiting for the bucket to cease oscillation before lowering it. The invention is also useful when lling the bucket from a pit, as a bucket cannot enter a pit when swinging through a considerable arc, but will easily enter a narrow pit if, prior to lowering, it is stabilized by a device embodying the invention.

Obviously the present invention is not restricted to the particular 'embodiment thereof herein shown and described. Moreover,` it isnotindis-V pensable that all the features of the invention be used conjointly since they may be employed advantageously in various combinations and subcombinations. i

What I claim is: Y

l. A traversing hoist comprising, in combination, a trolley movable along a track; a bucket suspended from the trolley by` a hoist line; and means for stabilizing the bucket comprising a buffer against which the bail of the bucket strikes when the bucket is raised toits uppermost posiftion; said buer having resiliently mounted buffer arms of sufficient spread vto be engaged bythe bail of the bucket although oscillating in a plane transverse to the general plane of the trolley; the free ends of the buffer arms being inclined downwardly so as to guide the bail to a more or Ihoist line during traverse of the bucket without varying its position relative to the trolley; means .interposed between the bucket and the trolley to take the force of the pendulum-like swings of the bucket caused by sudden starts and stops and quickly to dampen the swings so that vthe bucket may be lowered without damage; and means to guide the bail of the 'bucket toward the central -part of the swing-dampening means.

3. A traversing hoist comprising, in combination, a trolley movable along a track; a pair of sheaves carried by the trolley; a bucket; a bail secured to the bucket; a sheave secured to the bail; a hoist line passing over the trolley sheaves and under the bucket'sheave and carrying the 'bucket;`the bucket' sheave traveling along the hoist line during traverse of the bucket without varying its position relative to the trolley; a spring buffer carried by and depending from the trolley and constructed and arranged to check the pendulum-like swings of the ybucket caused by sudden starts and stops; and a pair of converging arms to guide the bail of the bucket to a more or less central position relative to therbuier.

4. A traversing hoist comprising, in combination, a trolley movable along a track; a bucket suspended from the trolley by a hoistline; and means for stabilizing the bucket comprising a buffer against which the bail of the bucket strikes when the bucket israised toits uppermost posij j tion; said buffer having resiliently mounted bufl er arms of sufficient spread to be engaged by the` bail of the bucket although oscillating in a plane transverse to the general plane of the trolley; the parts being so constructed and arranged that pendulum-like oscillation of the bucket is checked by elevating the bucket until the bail Strikes the buffer arms. t l

5. A traversing hoist comprising, in combination, a bucket having a bail; a sheave connected tothe upper end of the bail; a hoist line passing around the sheave on the bail; a trolley movable Valong a track and carrying sheaves over which the hoist line moves during traveling of the trolley; and a buiTer interposedbetween `the bail and the trolley and attached to one of lsaid. parts, and

constructed and arrangedso that oscillation of the bucket in a vertical plane is rapidly checked whenever the bucket is elevated so that thebail, buffer and trolley are in contact.`

6. A traversing hoist comprising, `in combina-` f tion, a bucket having a bail; a sheave connected to the upper end of the bail; a hoist line passing 'around the sheave on the bail; a trolley movable along atrack and carrying sheaves over which the hoist line moves during traveling of the trole ley; the partsbeing so arranged thatthe bail normally hangs in the plane of and below the trolley; and a spring buffer secured to the trolley and extending below the same near the ends thereof,v and `constructed and arranged to be` struck by the bail of` the bucket, when elevated,

to check and stop pendulum-like oscillations ot"` the bucket responsive to sudden changes in velocity of the trolley.

the bucket.

` ing buler plate. 7. A traversing hoist comprising, in combina-l i tion, a buckethaving a bail; a sheave connected to the upper end of the bail; a hoist line passing around the sheave on the bail; a trolley movable .along a track and carrying sheaves over whichthe hoist linelmoves during traveling of ,the trolley; the parts being so arranged thatvthel bail normally` hangs in the plane of and below the trolley; and means to check and stop pendulum-like oscillations of the bucket comprising a i,

buffer having arms extendingbelow the trolley and substantially atright angles to the general plane of the trolley,and having springs serving to hold said arms normally horizontal and con.-

structed and arrangedto be compressed when the Y `are delivered to the buier plates.

9. A bucket-stabilizing attachment forbucketsupporting trolleys comprising,` in combination, a frame' designed to besecured to each end of the trolley and to extend below` the trolley, said frames being spaced aparta distance about equal to the length of the trolley; a` buffer plate carried a sulcient length to insure engagementwith a portion of the bucket as the. bucket is elevated,

`and sufliciently `spaced below the` trolley to prevent any portion of the bucket from striking the trolley; and `mechanism carried by keach `frame for absorbing shocks imparted to the correspond- WILLIS H. TOWNE.

kby each frame and extending at right angles to p and below the trolley; said buer plates having 

